I hope this letter finds you well. I have recognized this tactic as a common action
by the
devil. The devil wants to make people think they are better than the Church, so he makes them notice all the
"unappealing" elements of the Church, like others' imperfections and the Church's antiquity. What your
soldiers need to realize is that everyone, including themself, has vices. Therefore, others'
imperfections do not prove that the
Catholic religion is invalid, contrary to what demons want us to think, as discussed by Screwtape
(Lewis, Screwtape Letters, chapter 2). Considering that
your soldiers are recent converts to Christianity, I recommend the Sacrament of Baptism as a
solution to your issue. This
Sacrament recognizes the sinful nature of all humans because some of its major effects are the forgiveness
of all sins as well as the giving of sanctifying grace that
protects us from concupiscence, or the tendency to sin,
caused by the fall of Adam and Eve. You must get your soldiers baptized. It will reduce their tendency to
look down on the other churchgoers by protecting then from sin, and they will have greater humility by
understanding that baptism is essential for everyone because we all sin.
Yours,
Ulric